Essonne

Essonne is a department in the Île-de-France region of north-central France, located south of Paris and created in 1968 from parts of the former Seine-et-Oise department. It is known for housing several major research institutions and universities, including parts of the University of Paris-Saclay, making it an important center for higher education and scientific research. The department combines suburban areas that serve as bedroom communities for Paris with more rural southern territories, and its prefecture is Évry-Courcouronnes.